


you were warmer than the scent of coffee

by tmwshj



Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, M/M, barista!wonjin, hamlem enthusiasts pls dont hate me after this, yes this is inspired by wonjin saying he knew how to make coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27560575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwshj/pseuds/tmwshj
Summary: wonjin, working the night shift at the twenty-four-hour coffee shop in a quiet neighbourhood, meets a variety of people who come through the doors at unreasonable timings demanding a drink.so what choice does he have except to make them? he can’t really turn down making an americano for jungmo at 2 am in the morning, right?-title from bts - coffee
Relationships: Ham Wonjin/Koo Jungmo, Ham Wonjin/Song Hyeongjun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	you were warmer than the scent of coffee

**Author's Note:**

> when wonjin said he knew how to make coffee, damn right i took that and made it into a fic. this was originally supposed to be fluff but um, i listened to coffee by bts and decided to change the direction of this fic :O
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoy!

wonjin – twenty years old and capable of making a pretty rad cup of coffee, tea or whatever sugary-delight one may desire. he works at a small twenty-four-hour cafe in a desolate neighbourhood, and honestly? he enjoys it. a lot. there’s something about the quaint neighbourhood that’s so comforting to him, something about how it’s always the same familiar faces that drop by the café, how he comes in at sunset to take over the next shift from woobin every day, how he’s able to enjoy the last remaining minutes of the sun filtering through the blinds of the cafe while sipping a warm cup of vanilla latte.

just the familiarity of it all, and how much he truly enjoys the scent of coffee and the whirring of coffee machines.

even though the memories he has of this store is bitter like that of the brewed drink, he just can’t seem to let go of his job here, despite woobin’s many attempts at convincing him to resign, saying that he’ll easily find another job downtown with his skills.

however, wonjin is stubborn, so he stays, though it may hurt sometimes.

it was a wednesday evening and like always, wonjin comes by the café to prepare for his next shift, greeting woobin with a curt nod.

“i just started grinding a new batch of beans, they should be done in a few.” woobin said, taking off his apron and hanging it in the back room.

“why though? no one gets coffee at like… midnight.”

“you get the occasional night owls. it’s rare but we still have to make them their coffee.” woobin patted wonjin on the shoulder, a silent encouragement for his shift, before waving goodbye and leaving the café. the ringing of the bell reminded wonjin that once again, he was alone.

he’s not always alone though.

there’s allen, the tech guy and intern from the company across the street who always does coffee runs for his fellow colleagues. wonjin teased him once on his third consecutive night visiting the café, after he placed his order of five iced americanos.

“seems like someone isn’t that good at rock-paper-scissors.” wonjin mused, pouring the coffee powder into the machine.

allen, who was staring intensely at his phone, looked up, confused. “me?”

“yes, you. you’ve been here three consecutive nights.”

“ah, i guess you could say that, but i’m also just the intern, so i guess i can’t really say ‘no’ to them.”

“maybe i should start preparing the drinks in advance, what do you say?” wonjin said, scooping ice into the cups.

“sounds great.”

“your name?”

“allen. please.”

and that’s how wonjin managed to befriend the shy and awkward tech intern from across the street. allen comes by every weekday now, looking less irritated and genuinely excited to see wonjin. he even sticks around for a while just to catch up with wonjin about how their days went, but was sure not to stay too long, just in case the ice melted.

another person wonjin befriended is minhee – the solemn and quiet teenager who he thinks lives around the area and was just way too tired for his own good.

the first time wonjin noticed minhee was when the student dragged himself into the café at 10 pm on a saturday night, pulled out a thick stack of assignments as well as his laptop and straight-up slammed his head on the table. all without ordering a drink.

wonjin remembered how he was scared to approach him, and he blames his tall height and prominent dark circles for that.

wonjin tapped his shoulder, startling minhee who must have dozed off while contemplating his existence. minhee jerked in his seat, immediately whipping his head upwards and squinting at wonjin.

“hey, um, you have to order a drink before you can use our premises.” wonjin said in his best customer-service tone, wary of minhee’s sleep deprivation.

the younger boy blinked once, then twice, before seeming to understand what wonjin had said to him. “fuck, i’m so sorry. may i please have an espresso? iced.”

wonjin quirked an eyebrow. “are you sure? it’s 10pm.”

“yes.”

wonjin nodded politely, quickly disappearing behind the counter to prepare the tired student’s drink. he quickly reappeared after a few moments, even caring enough to serve minhee’s drink to his table directly.

minhee had been startled once again, muttering a “thank you” under his breath before regaining his composure.

“just curious, when’s the last time you slept?” wonjin asked, careful not to prod too much into the student’s personal life and sleep schedule.

“i dunno, i think three yesterday?”

“a.m.?”

“no, p.m. it was a nap.” minhee yawned, his eyes watering.

“dude, you’re pulling two all-nighters in a row?” wonjin asked, voice laced with concern for this stranger he had never met before.

“yupsie-daisies.”

wonjin sighed, deciding that it’ll be best to leave minhee alone for the rest of the night.

minhee turns up two nights later, looking like he had just been run over by a truck. this time, it was nearing 11pm, and wonjin wonders if this boy understood the concept of self-care.

minhee remembered to order a drink this time, mumbling a nearly incoherent “americano” under his breath.

“your name?”

“why does that matter? i’m the only one here.”

“just because i feel like you’ll be visiting quite often over the next few days. exam season is coming up, right?”

minhee nodded, yawning. “yep. i’m minhee,” minhee squinted at wonjin’s drooping nametag. “wonjin-ssi.”

“just call me hyung.”

minhee started coming round more often, and thanks to wonjin’s persistent nagging, he starts coming earlier and leaving before midnight – also due to wonjin’s warm and toasty hot chocolate, a sure way to make even the biggest insomniac feel drowsy. minhee doesn’t appreciate how he starts feeling tired so early into the night, but he can’t bring himself to admit that to wonjin, especially since wonjin always adds extra marshmallows to his drink, as well as the occasional cookies and cake. (woobin doesn’t need to know though.)

that’s how wonjin managed to befriend a tired, but nonetheless sweet and kind-hearted minhee.

the final person he befriended was neither a customer, nor did he remain as a friend.

song hyeongjun, an ex-coworker as well as a student working part time on the weekends.

wonjin remembered how shy the small, curly-haired boy was when woobin introduced the two to each other. he remembered how quickly he had _fallen_ for hyeongjun. hyeongjun was like any other newbie – clumsy at handling the coffee machines, flustered when ringing customers up but most of all, so enthusiastic to learn. wonjin didn’t realise how his initial feelings of adoration have spiralled out of control and developed into feelings of infatuation. he found himself looking forward to the weekends, his walks in the sweltering afternoon sun a little less burdensome when he finally got to see the face he was day-dreaming about the whole week.

song hyeongjun was just so easy to fall in love with.

that summer was the warmest in years, yet, wonjin didn’t seem to mind the heat when he was with hyeongjun. he taught hyeongjun the ropes – how to operate the different machines, what toppings he could add to coffee to make it taste better, how to brew his first cup of coffee.

“hyung, like this?” hyeongjun had said, wrist trembling as he poured the milk into the cup of espresso in an attempt at coffee art.

“nope.” wonjin said firmly, reaching around hyeongjun’s waist to hold the younger’s hands, guiding them to pour the milk into the cup. hyeongjun had frozen up, shocked at wonjin’s sudden bold act of affection.

an awkward-looking heart appears in the coffee as hyeongjun spun around, meeting eyes with wonjin. wonjin feels his heart beat faster, too afraid to look the younger in the eye.

“hyung… do you… like me?”

wonjin thanked the lords that the café was empty in that moment. he swallowed. “yes, hyeongjun-ah. i do. a lot.”

hyeongjun smiles, giggling. “i like you too, hyung.”

that summer was the best of wonjin’s life. hyeongjun provided wonjin the same warmth a cup of hot chocolate gave to a person on a chilly winter day. the time spent with hyeongjun was oh-so-sweet, like a cup of caramel macchiato. he remembers their dates to the amusement park, the movies, even going café-hopping even though the both of them were sick of ingesting caffeine.

with hyeongjun, life had seemed _perfect_.

unfortunately, their romance was as fleeting as summer, hyeongjun choosing to break up with wonjin in the same café he had confessed in – _how twisted_.

“let’s break up.”

the cup wonjin was holding onto fell to the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces. “w-why…?” wonjin choked out.

hyeongjun shook his head, refusing to speak another word as his eyes started to gloss over. he ran out of the café, and that was the last time wonjin had ever seen or heard from song hyeongjun, his eyes trailing over to the shattered cup on the ground…

wonjin quickly found out from woobin the reason for hyeongjun’s sudden departure. hyeongjun had been accepted to a prestigious dance school overseas before accepting the job and decided to kill time working as a barista before his departure. what hyeongjun hadn’t expected though, was to fall in _love_ , and it broke him to end it so quickly.

wonjin took his time to get over the break up, deciding to start taking the night shift instead to deal with the empty hole in his heart. the sunset was comforting to him – it was like an end to a day, the end of the sweltering heat and the memories he had with song hyeongjun. despite woobin’s encouragement to just _quit_ and start afresh in a different café, wonjin decides against it. wonjin thinks it’s because he loves the place too much, but he knows that deep inside, a small part of him is hoping that one day, the small curly-haired boy would walk through the doors of the café again, and right back into his arms.

it was one of those rare nights where allen and minhee didn’t turn up. although wonjin felt lonely, he did feel somewhat glad – allen didn’t have to do a coffee run and minhee didn’t have to pull an all-nighter again. wonjin sips on his hot chocolate, trying his best to distract himself from the memories that were threatening to come back again. it’s december, three months after hyeongjun had left, and wonjin finds himself slowly getting back on his feet again, the hole in his heart slowly patching itself up. (was it from the hot chocolate? maybe.)

it was snowing harder than usual, white droplets falling endlessly from the sky and piling up outside the windowsill. wonjin was just about to head to the backroom (there’s better wifi there) when the bells jingled and in came running a man in a black trench coat.

“an americano, please.” the man says, and wonjin couldn’t help but notice that he was… crying?

“sir, it’s 2am. are you sure?” wonjin definitely should not have questioned the man’s choice of drink, for the sake of professionalism as well as the fact that the man started bawling his eyes out when he had asked.

“fuck, i’m so sorry, um—” wonjin’s eyes widen, guiding the man to the seat which minhee always occupied during his late-night extravaganzas (granted, it was the most comfortable seat in the café.)

“please wait a moment while i prepare your drink.”

the man didn’t give a verbal reply, and wonjin, not wanting to escalate the situation any further, runs behind the counter, quickly making a piping-hot cup of americano, making sure to lessen the caffeine he added. it _was_ two in the morning anyways.

before approaching the man, wonjin decides to grab the last slice of strawberry shortcake from the display case, figuring that there won’t be anyone barging in to buy a slice any time soon.

“here, enjoy.” wonjin places the cake and drink on the table.

“i didn’t order—”

“don’t worry, both the drink and the cake are on the house. we needed to clear the coffee power and cake anyways.” _a lie._

the man takes off the cap he was wearing and wonjin takes a good look at him – his eyes are bloodshot, making wonjin wonder that he might have been crying for a while now. the man forces a smile, “thank you, wonjin-ssi.”

“it’s not a problem… but um, are you alright?” as much as wonjin wanted to simply ignore the man, the cold weather made him susceptible to having another one of those nights where he would zone out while thinking of hyeongjun, and wonjin would rather do anything except for that. he might as well care for a stranger than care for himself, right?

the man stays silent for a while, hesitating. “i would be lying if i said yes, right?” he chuckles dryly.

with a bite of cake in his mouth, the man reaches out his hand for a handshake. “i’m jungmo. please, have a seat, if you don’t mind.”

wonjin obliges. “so… what happened?”

“a break-up.” jungmo says between mouthfuls of cake. “look, i know it’s unfair to unload this onto you since we met only ten minutes ago, but i just really need someone to listen right now. you don’t have to say anything, but it’ll be nice if you could listen.”

wonjin nods knowingly, “just say whatever you need to say.”

jungmo smiles, grateful for the barista’s kindness.

“we broke up, i don’t know, a week ago? and it all just felt so sudden. one day, we were fine, doing couplely-stuff like holding hands and kissing, and the next, he broke up with me, saying that it was his fault and that he was sorry. like what kind of bullshit excuse is that?

i would say i was doing fine for the past week, you know, the usual moping around and eating unhealthy amounts of ice-cream, but for some reason, tonight, everything came crashing down, and fuck, i miss him so much.” jungmo doesn’t cry when he finishes, looking too tired and washed-out to feel anything.

“we were only together for three months, but i still fell in love. that was so stupid of me.” jungmo curses, chugging the rest of his americano. “also, i wish this was more bitter.”

“i made it less bitter because it’s 2am, dumbass.” wonjin doesn’t know where he got this bravery from. “also, it’s not stupid to fall in love.”

“yes, it is. you wouldn’t know.”

wonjin sighs loudly, slumping into his seat. “actually, i would know.”

“why? fallen in love in three months before?”

wonjin hums in agreement. “mmhmm, got my heart broken too.”

“huh. guess we’re in the same boat then.”

jungmo stays silent for a while as wonjin tries to calm himself down. strangely, wonjin didn’t feel the tingling sensations in his eyes, nor did he feel himself choke up. it felt nice to speak about it after months of burying it deep inside.

“so,” jungmo starts, “how was he like?”

“amazing. that sums it up really. i felt so happy when i was with him.”

“same. love makes you feel stupid things huh?”

“it’s not stupid. love isn’t stupid.”

“sorry, i’m sorry.”

“don’t be.”

another silence. wonjin stands up to refill jungmo’s cup with hot chocolate instead.

“so, what about you? what was he like?” wonjin asks over the counter.

“well, he was everything i dreamed of. it’s so cliché, but i think it was love at first sight.”

“same here. it really is cliché, huh?”

it wasn’t funny, but jungmo laughs anyways. wonjin swiftly returns with a cup of hot chocolate, the marshmallows floating on the surface.

“hot chocolate?”

“yep. it always makes me feel better.”

jungmo took small sips of the warm drink, careful not to burn his tongue as wonjin continues. “jungmo-ssi—”

“you can call me hyung.”

“jungmo hyung, just… just don’t give up on love, alright? the heartbreak part might suck, but you have to look on the bright side, i guess. love isn’t a bad thing, it’s just difficult.”

jungmo smiles. “who knew the barista that works around the corner was a love expert?”

“you live around here?”

“yeah, i occasionally drop by for morning coffee, so it’s expected you wouldn’t know me.” jungmo hesitates, “was he your first boyfriend?”

“yeah.”

“same here.”

“i think i was his summer fling, which kind of sucks, but it was nice i guess.” wonjin shrugs his shoulders. he turns to look at the clock on the wall.

“it’s three am soon, you should head back home, jungmo-hyung.”

jungmo seems to contemplate his suggestion before settling on a simple “nah”.

“even if i do go home, i won’t be able to sleep anyways.”

“you’re right.”

“do you wanna talk? we don’t have to talk about them.”

wonjin nods, getting comfortable in his seat.

so they talk, they talk about everything and anything, anything that would help the two heart-broken boys forget about the pain their hearts have suffered over the past three months.

as the morning rays filtered through the blinds, jungmo bids wonjin goodbye and wonjin heads to the back room to take off his apron. he meets woobin at the door, and before leaving, he quickly asks, “woobin-hyung, can i start taking the morning shift starting tomorrow?”

“huh? why the sudden change of heart?”

“oh… nothing really, just hoping i can practise my coffee-making skills a little more. no one really orders coffee at night anyways.” a blatant lie – there’s allen and minhee after all. maybe it’s because wonjin wishes to continue meeting a similar broken-hearted boy more often.

woobin smiles at him, looking through his lie. “i’ll get to it.”

“thanks hyung.” wonjin says before leaving the café.

he hears woobin shout from behind him. “just so you know, i’m happy for you!”

“thank you hyung!” he yells back.

wonjin decides to take a different route back to his apartment that morning, choosing the route that gives him the best view of the sunrise.

although the taste of espresso was still bitter on his tongue, he finds his life slowly growing sweeter again, like that of an iced vanilla latte. the sunrise peeks over the edges of the building, marking the start of a brand-new day and for the first time in three months, wonjin doesn’t dread it.

he looks forward to it, just like how people look forward to their morning coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are very much appreciated <3
> 
> twt - [shjIuvr](https://twitter.com/shjIuvr)


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